Campus Notebook: Bad Apples
- By Alison McSherry
- Roll Call Staff
- Dec. 11, 2008, Midnight
Two employees at the Library of Congress retail store pleaded guilty on Tuesday to stealing money from the store, while a former LOC employee was charged in connection with a conspiracy to steal the personal identities of other employees.
William Sinclair Jr., who had worked in the LOC’s human resources department, has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
Sinclair’s wrongdoings were uncovered in July, at which time he admitted to them and resigned from his post.
Sinclair allegedly abused his access to the National Finance Center database by obtaining the names, social security numbers and dates of birth of at least 10 employees. He is accused of then giving this information to Labiska Gibbs — who is being charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and first degree fraud — to create bogus credit accounts at stores like Target and Victoria’s Secret.
If convicted, Sinclair faces a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars, though he is likely to serve from 37 to 46 months.
John Moore and Christine Rhodes, two cashiers in the Library’s retail store, face up to one year in prison for stealing money from the shop. Moore has agreed to pay $2,183.94 in restitution, while Rhodes will pay $2,000, according to a separate DOJ release.
Moore has a record of 70 returned items resulting in cash refunds from May 1 to June 25. A security camera in the shop showed no customer present during 56 of those returns. On July 7, Moore submitted a sworn statement to the court in which he admitted using the unit number on objects near the register to make the fraudulent returns.
Rhodes simply stole cash. For two years, she took $30 to $40 at a time from her register. She also pocketed the cash that customers gave her to pay for their purchases. Rhodes told investigators that she took the money because she believed other employees were engaging in similar activities because they had not received their year-end bonuses.
The Library of Congress did not return calls for comment.
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